Navigating Career Choices: Should I Pursue an MBA in Advertising or Explore Other Paths?

Hello, everyone. I am new to this network. Actually, I was just searching for some information on MBA institutes when I came across this network. Anyway, I want some advice from you all. I have completed my second-year exams of B.Com (Hons) from Delhi University and am waiting for my results. Alongside, I am pursuing a multimedia course, specifically an animation course from Arena Multimedia, and currently in my 4th semester, which is the final semester.

As I am approaching the end of my course, I have already begun exploring job opportunities in Delhi. However, I have noticed a limited number of options, and I am not inclined to accept just any job. Consequently, someone suggested that I consider pursuing an MBA in Advertising.

I am seeking guidance on whether I should pursue an MBA and what other relevant options I could explore. If I do opt for an MBA, I am particularly interested in reputable institutions that can offer quality education and enhance my job prospects in the future. Financial constraints are not an issue for me as I come from a business family; my primary focus is on choosing a prestigious institute.

Given the critical juncture in my life, I am keen on making informed decisions about my career to avoid any wastage of time. My career holds significant importance for me, and I am eager to ensure a fruitful professional journey ahead. I would appreciate insights on the admission criteria for an MBA program. Do I need to take an entrance exam or fulfill any specific requirements for admission?

I am genuinely in need of sound advice at this point. What are your suggestions?

Hi,

Nice to see that you are very clear about your career. You should consider appearing in the CAT exam. If you manage to get a good rank, you can secure admission in top B-schools.

Regards,
Sharat

So, is there any criteria other than being a graduate for appearing for CAT? And how do we prepare for it? Do I need to join some institute to prepare for it or not? When does the CAT exam occur? And should I start preparing for it?

To appear in the CAT exam, you need to have at least 50% marks in your graduation if you are not from OBC, SC, etc. CAT subjects include English, reasoning, G.K., aptitude, etc. It is advisable to begin your preparation as soon as possible. Most cities have good institutes for CAT preparation. Famous names like Times Institute and PT Education are well-known for CAT coaching. You can easily find information about CAT preparation institutes online.

These are the top B-Schools listed based on their ranking:

1. (IIM Ahmedabad) Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
2. (IIM Bangalore) Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
3. (IIM Calcutta) Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
4. (ISB Hyderabad) Indian School of Business, Hyderabad
5. (IIM Lucknow) Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
6. (XLRI Jamshedpur) Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur
7. (FMS Delhi) Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi
8. (IIM Indore) Indian Institute of Management, Indore
9. (IIM Kozhikode) Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
10. (IIFT Delhi) Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi
11. (SP Jain Mumbai) SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai
12. (MDI Gurgaon) Management Development Institute, Gurgaon
13. (JBIMS Mumbai) Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
14. (NMIMS Mumbai) Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai
15. (IMT Ghaziabad) Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
16. (NITIE Mumbai) National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai
17. (SIBM Pune) Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune
18. (XIMB) Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubhaneswar
19. (TISS Mumbai) Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
20. (SJM SoM IIT Mumbai) Shailesh J Mehta School of Management, IIT Bombay
21. (DoMS, IIT Delhi) Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi
22. (SCMHRD Pune) Symbiosis Center for Management and Human Resource Development, Pune
23. (MICA) Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad
24. (IIM Shillong) Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong
25. (KJ Somaiya Mumbai) KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai
26. (IME, IIT Kanpur) Industrial and Management Engineering, IIT Kanpur
27. (SIIB Pune) Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune
28. (TAPMI Manipal) TA Pai Institute of Management, Manipal
29. (VG SoM IIT Kharagpur) Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur
30. (DoMS, IIT Madras) Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras
31. (IMI Delhi) International Management Institute, Delhi
32. (IRMA) Institute of Rural Management, Anand
33. (SIBM Bangalore) Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bangalore
34. (Nirma Ahmedabad) Institute of Management - Nirma University, Ahmedabad
35. (ICFAI Hyderabad) ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad
36. (GIM Goa) Goa Institute of Management, Goa
37. (DoMS, IIT Roorkee) Department of Management Studies, IIT Roorkee
38. (Great Lakes Chennai) Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
39. (Welingkar Mumbai) Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai
40. (FORE Delhi) FORE School of Management, Delhi

(Continued in the next paragraph)

41. (XIME Bangalore) Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Bangalore
42. (XIMR Mumbai) Xavier Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai
43. (LIBA Chennai) Loyola Institute of Business Administration, Chennai
44. (BIM Trichy) Bharathidasan Institute of Management, Trichy
45. (LBSIM Delhi) Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi
46. (MFC - DU) Master of Finance and Control, University of Delhi
47. (SIMC Pune) Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication (PGDCM), Pune
48. (UBS Chandigarh) University Business School, Chandigarh
49. (BIMTECH Noida) Birla Institute of Management Technology, Noida
50. (IMT Nagpur) Institute of Management Technology, Nagpur
51. (IFMR Chennai) Institute of Financial Management and Research, Chennai
52. (SITM Pune) Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management, Pune
53. (SCIT Pune) Symbiosis Center for Information Technology, Pune
54. (XISS Ranchi) Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi
55. (NIT Trichy) Department of Management Studies, NIT Trichy
56. (IIFM Bhopal) Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal
57. (IMDR Pune) Institute of Management Development and Research, Pune
58. (PUMBA Pune) Department of Management Sciences, Pune University
59. (Sydenham Mumbai) Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education, Mumbai
60. (ICFAI Mumbai) ICFAI Business School, Mumbai
61. (MHROD - DU) Master of Human Resource and Organizational Development, University of Delhi
62. (Alliance Bangalore) Alliance Business Academy, Bangalore
63. (Christ, Bangalore) Department of Business Administration - Christ University, Bangalore
64. (ITM Navi Mumbai) Institute of Technology and Management, Navi Mumbai

(Continued in the next paragraph)

65. (Amity, Noida) Amity Business School, Noida
66. (ISBM Pune) International School of Business and Media, Pune
67. (SIOM Nashik) Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, Nashik
68. (IBA, Bangalore) Indian Business Academy, Bangalore
69. (NIILM Delhi) National Institute of Integrated Learning and Management, Delhi
70. (IISWBM Kolkata) Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Kolkata
71. (NL Dalmia Mumbai) NL Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research, Mumbai
72. (AIM, Kolkata) Army Institute of Management, Kolkata
73. (MET Mumbai) MET Institute of Management, Mumbai
74. (NIT Durgapur) Department of Management Studies, NIT Durgapur
75. (ISME Bangalore) International School of Management Excellence, Bangalore
76. (SIESCOMS Navi Mumbai) SIES College of Management Studies, Navi Mumbai
77. (SDM Mysore) SDM Institute for Management Development, Mysore
78. (BIMM Pune) Balaji Institute of Modern Management, Pune
79. (IPMG Gandhinagar) Institute of Petroleum Management, Gandhinagar
80. (BMA Bangalore) Bangalore Management Academy, Bangalore
81. (KIAMS Harihar) Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies, Harihar
82. (MITSoM, Pune) Maharashtra Institute of Technology School of Management, Pune
83. (NIASoM, Pune) National Insurance Academy School of Management, Pune
84. (GIIB, Vizag) Gitam Institute of International Business, Vishakhapatnam

Hi Priya,

Well, there are numerous options in Delhi NCR. IIPM is also a good option; usually, people don't prefer IIPM due to the high admission fee. Amity is also a good option. If you would ask me the best options, then it would be:

(FMS Delhi) Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi
(IIFT Delhi) Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi
(MDI Gurgaon) Management Development Institute, Gurgaon
(IMT Ghaziabad) Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad
(DoMS, IIT Delhi) Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi
(IMI Delhi) International Management Institute, Delhi
(FORE Delhi) FORE School of Management, Delhi
(LBSIM Delhi) Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi
(MFC - DU) Master of Finance and Control, University of Delhi
(BIMTECH Noida) Birla Institute of Management Technology, Noida
(MHROD - DU) Master of Human Resource and Organizational Development, University of Delhi

I hope this information helps you in making your decision. Let me know if you need more assistance.

Hi Priya,

Of course, Amity and IIPM are one of the best colleges for an MBA, but if you want quality education, then you should consider taking an entrance exam. To prepare for the exam, you can go to Times or CL in CP, Delhi. There are many colleges in Delhi/NCR, but for most of them, you will need to pass an entrance exam.

All the best...

Hello Priya,

Welcome to the HR Fraternity. First of all answering to your CAT query

a) The person should not only be just a graduate but a Graduate with a minimum of 50% marks or CGPA which is at par to 50%. This is for the general category & subsequently for the reserved category it should be 45% or equivalent CGPA.

b) Persons who have not completed their Bachelor's Degree can also apply provided that either they are appearing in the final year examinations or awaiting their final year results.

I don't think that you will eligible for CAT 2009 as you have written in your post that “i have given my second year exams of B.Com(corr),Delhi University..and am waiting for my results”. You can still check about it online.If not gear up for CAT 2010

c) Surely you can join some good institute if you think that you need that extra support to crack CAT. Couples of well known institute who prepare students for CAT are Career Launcher, IMS Learning Resources etc. On the contrary if you think that you have the full potential to prepare for CAT on your own then it's at your discretion.

d) CAT exams are usually conducted in Nov – Dec of every year until & unless if there is some exception. Surely you can start preparing for it but at the same time you have to prepare well for your Graduation course also or you can prepare for both of them simultaneously.

On the same note just to answer your query better I was going through your posting & you have written that along with doing Graduation you also started looking for job opportunities but you didn't find plenty of them so can you let me know what kind of job were you looking at . Given the fact that you are still a undergraduate I personally think that the job options would surely be quite limited for you, still would like to know what kind of jobs you explored & you didn't find much of them.

Also you have written that someone advised you to go for MBA- Advertising so you want to check that you should go for it or not + a good job & carrier means a lot to you etc. I just want to cross check that someone advised you to do MBA that's why you want to do it or it is your personal thought also to do a MBA.

If that is the case, my sincere advice is first of all do a thorough Introspection of what you want as a career, as a job which you think you can be enthusiastic about for a long while. Surely listen to all inputs from others but don't go by what people advice you to pursue as a career or as education. Much better would be if you take your own call what you want to take as a career & then start in that direction.

Hope this will be of help.

Thanks Pritwinder, Priyanka, and tcyonline for your help. I really appreciate it.

@Prashant

Thank you for all the info on CAT. As I mentioned in my first post, I am pursuing a multimedia course, specifically an animation course. I searched for some good jobs in the media industry but couldn't find a job profile that matches mine. Therefore, I was already thinking of pursuing an MBA. I consulted one of my teachers from the media course, and he advised me to go for an MBA in advertising. Pursuing an MBA is what I want to do, not just because someone advised me to do so. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so anxious, especially since I already know I won't be able to appear for CAT 2009. I really appreciate your concern and help, but I still need your advice.

@all

My main concern now is that when I started this course, I was only pursuing graduation for the sake of it. I mean, I had to be a graduate, and that's all. My goal was just to clear all the subjects each year, not necessarily to score well. Therefore, I used to study only one night before the exams. I know that sounds very lame, but that's what I've been doing for the past two years during my B.Com exams. It is a well-known fact that it is quite challenging to score in correspondence exams. The Delhi University grading system can be tough, and as I have already taken my exams for the first two years, I cannot change them. I am still waiting for my second-year results, but my first year didn't go that well. I was only able to clear all the subjects, achieving a percentage of around 40%. I know that's a very low score, but I never thought it would matter. Now, I only have my final year left, and it is very challenging for me to achieve an average of 50% in graduation. This concern really bothers me because I don't think I'll be able to appear for CAT if I don't score 50%. Studying has never been that difficult for me; I was a topper in my school. However, I didn't pay as much attention during my undergraduate studies because I never thought it would matter that much. What should I do now? I am not sure if I'll be able to take the CAT. What are my second options in that case? Should I consider private universities instead? I know I may sound like a big mess, but I earnestly seek your guidance and help.

Hi Priya,

What's done is done. Let's hope that your score in the 2nd year turns out well enough. Knowing that 2 years have gone by, it's time for you to brace up and put in all the hard work in the 3rd year. Try to score up to the expectations with the thought that it's now or never.

In the worst-case scenario, if you are not able to make it to the CAT, then you can go ahead with applying to those colleges where the percentage criterion is not all that vital. All you need is to have a graduation degree and be able to pay a decent fee, and you can be enrolled for an MBA. Another option would be to sit for MAT as it requires the person to be at least a graduate. Try to find those colleges that accept students through MAT, where either the percentage criterion is less than 50% or they have other parameters for MBA admissions. (Last I knew, Bharati Vidyapeeth conducts their own MAT test and they require 45% in Graduation. You may want to confirm this. I believe EMPI is another college that accepts candidates through MAT/CAT scores, and they don't have the 50% parameter. Apart from MAT scores, they also conduct in-house assessment tests before admitting candidates to their PG programs. Infinity Business School is another option where the percentage requirement is not there. You can do further research on the above.

I am not too well informed on this, but I have heard that quite a few colleges offer sponsored or NRI seats where there is a possibility of admission, but you will have to pay a hefty fee for that.

Thank you.

Fees are really not one of my concerns, as I already told you. I just want to do my MBA from the best institution possible. So, which universities do not require a CAT/MAT paper? I mean the universities/colleges/institutions that conduct their own entrance exam or something like that. Also, I am looking for ones that do not have a criteria of a minimum percentage of 50% in Delhi/NCR, which obviously should be recognized enough. I know that IIPM and Amity do not take admissions through CAT/MAT, but I want to know about other recognized colleges as well. How good do you think IIPM or Amity is for doing an MBA and its placements?

A significant number of colleges consider CAT/MAT scores (like EMPI, Infinity, etc.) apart from other parameters for MBA admissions. The good part is that they don't require a 50% score.

On the other hand, colleges like Bharti Vidyapeeth conduct their own tests for MBA admissions with a requirement of 45% in Graduation. However, many colleges and universities that conduct their own tests usually prefer candidates with a minimum of 50% in their Graduation.

To fully understand the admission criteria, it is advisable to research online or visit some campuses.

For Amity and IIPM, Amity accepts candidates with a CAT/MAT/GMAT score for most PG courses, but they require a minimum of 50% in the undergraduate degree. On the other hand, IIPM has its own assessment tests for admissions to PG courses, and a 50% graduation score is not mandatory.

Researching online and contacting the college help desk or office is the best way to gather comprehensive information about other colleges.

In my personal opinion, for pursuing an MBA, Amity is a better choice compared to IIPM based on my experience with campus hiring from both institutions and reviewing their curriculum. I found Amity students to be superior in certain aspects compared to IIPM students. This is solely my personal opinion. Ultimately, what truly matters is the potential, conceptual clarity, and presentation skills of the individual, regardless of the college they attend, especially if it is not one of the top 15 colleges.

Hmm, I'll do the necessary search and all, but do you mind telling me the top 15 B-schools of Delhi ranking-wise?

It's really not about the fee, and yeah, I checked. Amity takes admissions based on MAT scores. But which one is better, MAT or CAT?

They are personalized opinions that students took as less of a global management exposure trip but more as a chance to go abroad at least once in life.

Oh, so are you trying to tell me that they just give us an opportunity to go abroad but we won't get to learn much there?

---

Will try to find and tell you because all those which come instantly to my mind and are worth it need 50%. Don't you want to sit for the MAT?

I don't think I have a problem sitting for CAT or MAT. I know the only criteria for giving MAT is that you should be a graduate. However, I didn't find many colleges that accept admissions based on MAT scores. Additionally, someone told me that MAT is really very difficult, even more so than CAT. Is that true?

Dear, you can't take admission so easily. If you want to enroll in a good college, you have to appear for an entrance exam.

Thank you.

CAT is considered to be more difficult then MAT & that's why a normal perception flows that if one is not able to crack CAT, least s/he will get MAT.
CAT vis-à-vis MAT is considered to require more analytical bent of mind & should be supported by applying logics while answering. Time management is also a little more crucial in CAT.